Aggressive Rooster

[Debby10]

My very first chickens have been happily free ranging and the hens started laying last week. I have 13 Barred Rock hens and 1 rooster. They return to the coop at night and all was well until the last couple of days when the rooster started making moves toward me.

He is definitely getting more aggressive by the day and I think he will eventually attack. I try to be as quiet as I can and just carry something to put between us so I can do my chores. But I'm not going to put up with too much if he starts striking.

Is there something that can be done to discourage or train him? (You might be saving his life.) It would be too bad to lose him. I really do believe he keeps one eye on his girls and one eye out for hawks. And I wouldn't mind raising some chicks in the years to come as well.

THANKS!

 

[Jessica1228]

I don’t go off our deck between 9am and 6pm; when the DH was at work. I will not be anywhere near our rooster alone! I have carried buckets, blown a whistle, and actually kicked him off our two year old twice. One he attacks he will not get off. Even stranger, he killed a raccoon that got into our barn! Finally when he started getting rough with the hens we crated him a stall. It was big and we fed him every day. He went outside when all the hens were in for the night. Then we would ketch him and plop him back in. After a month no more fighting. He is the biggest suck up on the planet! It may sound cruel, but he was drawing blood.

 

[Debby10]

Jessica,

I'm not sure why that worked, but I'll keep it in mind. It doesn't sound cruel to me at all. Especially since I haven't ruled out ringing his neck. I'm not going to have a rooster around that draws blood. So far he just runs toward me, so I hope there is time to work something out.

My roo isn't bad to the hens and he leaves the horses alone. But he sees me as a threat and I think it stems from my chasing the hens out of the garden. But he may have just matured now. He is 20 weeks old, so the timing is right.

Thanks for the suggestion.

D

 

[gritsar]

First, you can't be afraid of your roo or you might as well re-home him now.
If and when he comes at you in an aggressive manner, take the lead and be aggressive back. Make him back up and don't walk away first. Make him be the first to walk away.
(For now) don't allow him to have treats from you. Chase him off. Make him keep his distance at all times.
Read my BYC page for more info.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
You did good, Jessica. My blue Orpington rooster is in my remodeled barn now. The barn now has several 4x10 sections for my breeding program. He's in one section by himself and has been for about a month. I tell everyone that its a cell for criminally insane. He was meaner'n a snake and crowed nonstop all day long. I'd finally had it. He seems to have settled down quite a bit, and he has three hens in the "coop" next to him. When they're old enough, I will use him for breeding until I get lots of eggs to incubate. Then, hopefully, I can give him to someone who will promise to tolerate him and not kill him; otherwise, he's in that pen for life. Hope he's better by then. I really like him, but his attacks and crowing were wayyyy toooooooo much.

 

[rooster-red]

Check out my page, the link is in my sig line.

 

[Debby10]

Quote:
Thanks!! I that's just the direction I needed. I'm a greenhorn and can certainly do those things but was uncertain if that would trigger the fighting instinct rather than cow him. I'll insitute a strict policy of domination tomorrow morning! Can't wait.

I'm not afraid to deal with him and I would much rather keep him. Rehoming, as you call it, is difficult. I've had several offer to TAKE him, but then they admit that they won't KEEP him. Not to worry, I'm a long way from giving up on him.

D

 

[Julie_A]

Don't let him get the bluff on you. I learned that the hard way when I was a kid. Grew up with RIR roosters.

 

[Stefrobrts]

In July our Buff O roo turned mean and started seriously attacking us. He wouldn't back down until I'd literally kicked him away in self defense several times, and not playing with him - I mean I really kicked that bugger. I found ours got meaner and meaner, and I never once backed down from him - he came after me and anyone who came near the pen. He was a big, dangerous bird. He finally got a lucky strike in and put a hole in my husband's hand that bled like crazy, and that was his last move. I won't have a roo like that around. We had him for dinner a few days later. Almost immediately a friend gave me a sweet cochin roo to take his place. There's too many roos out there to put up with a rotten one!

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
Yep, and I have a "bachelor pad" with six waiting for me to choose from when I've bred out six to eight hens that I want to keep. I'll start with my first choice, and if he behaves for a month, I'll give away the others-in-waiting along with a few of the excess hens with each rooster; otherwise, he'll be replaced with the next in line.